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The Aztecs arrive in Mexico valley after a long migration from their northern homeland. Following the prophecy of one of their gods, Huitzilopochtli, they found a settlement, Tenochtitlán, on the marshy land near Lake Texcoco. By the early 15th century, the Aztecs and their first emperor, Itzcoatl, form a three-way alliance with the city-states of Texcoco and Tlatelóco and establish joint control over the region.

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The Aztecs conquer their chief rivals in the city of Azcapotzalco and emerge as the dominant force in central Mexico. They develop an intricate social, political, religious and commercial organization, with an economy driven by markets such as Tenochtitlán’s Tlatelolco, visited by some 50,000 people on major market days. Early forms of currency include cacao beans and lengths of woven cloth. The Aztec civilization is also highly developed socially, intellectually and artistically.

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February 1517 Cortés Goal To Find A Route To Asia And Its Resources

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February 1517 Cortés Goal To Find A Route To Asia And Its Resources

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Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, the first European to visit Mexican territory, arrives in the Yucatán from Cuba with three ships and about 100 men. Members of the local native population clash with the Spanish explorers, killing some 50 of them and capturing several more. Córdoba’s reports on his return to Cuba prompt the Spanish governor there, Diego Velásquez, to send a larger force back to Mexico, under the command of Hernán Cortés.

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November 1519 Cortés Gains Control Of Tenochtitlán

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November 1519 Cortés Gains Control Of Tenochtitlán

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Cortés and his men arrive in Tenochtitlán. They are welcomed as honored guests by Moctezuma and his people due to the Spaniard’s resemblance to Quetzalcoatl, a legendary light-skinned god-king. Taking Moctezuma hostage, Cortés is able to gain control of Tenochtitlán.

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Santa Anna himself becomes president after leading the successful resistance against Spain’s attempt to recapture Mexico in 1829. His strong Centralist policies encourage the residents of Texas , then still part of Mexico, who declare their independence in 1836. After attempting to put an end to the rebellion in Texas, Santa Anna’s forces are defeated by those of rebel leader Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto in April 1836.

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As a result of the continuing dispute over Texas, frictions between the U.S. and Mexican residents of the region, and a desire to acquire land in New Mexico and California, the U.S. declares war on Mexico. The U.S. quickly smother their enemy with superior force, launching an invasion of northern Mexico led by General Zachary Taylor while invading New Mexico and California and blockading both of Mexico’s coasts. Despite a series of U.S. victories and the success of the blockade, Mexico refuses to admit defeat, and in the spring of 1847 the U.S. sends forces under General Winfield Scott to capture Mexico City.

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One of Júarez’s first acts as president is to suspend payment on all of Mexico’s debts to foreign governments. In an operation spearheaded by France’s Napoleon III, France, Great Britain and Spain intervene to protect their investments in Mexico, occupying Veracruz. The British and Spanish soon withdraw, but Napoleon III sends his troops to occupy Mexico City, forcing Júarez and his government to flee in June 1863.

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The Mexican Revolution begins when Madero issues the Plan of San Luis Potosí, promising democracy, federalism, agrarian reform and worker’s rights and declaring war on the Díaz plan. By 1911, Díaz is forced to step aside and Madero is elected president, but conflict and violence continue for the better part of the next decade. Popular leaders like Emiliano Zapata in southern Mexico and Pancho Villa in the north emerge as the champions of the peasant and working class, refusing to submit to presidential authority.

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Elected in 1940, Cárdenas’ successor, Manual Ávila Camacho, fakes a friendlier relationship with the U.S., which leads Mexico to declare war on the Axis powers after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. During World War ll, Mexican pilots fight against Japanese forces in the Philippines, serving alongside the U.S. Air Force. In 1944, Mexico agrees to pay U.S. oil companies $24 million, plus interest, for properties expropriated in 1938. The following year, Mexico joins the newly created United Nations.

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1968 Mexico City Is Chosen To Host The Olympics

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1968 Mexico City Is Chosen To Host The Olympics

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As a symbol of its growing international status, Mexico City is chosen to host the Olympic Games. Over the course of the year, student protesters do a lot of demonstrations in an attempt to draw international attention to what they see as a deficit of social justice and democracy in Mexico under the PRI government and its current president, Gustavo Díaz Ordaz. On October 2, ten days before the Games were to open, Mexican security forces and military troops surround a demonstration at the historic Tlatelolco Plaza and open fire.